Week 25
Drowning Pumpkins....
but the weeds continue to thrive!
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| Tuesday (of the following week!!) |
Needless to say, we have had even more rain this week. It rained ALL day on Monday, but they did manage to dig out the driveway - and lay the drainage pipes. We avoided any damage to existing drains, water pipes and electricity cables - we found all three. Everything is underground here - most of it I remember OK. It is all supposed to go on an official register which has to be checked by contractors undertaking any work.
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| Already working! |
Bird Nesting Boxes
I had to tell the kids that we didn't "think" the birds survived - so we would make proper nesting boxes for next year. This kept them busy for a couple of hours...
Unintended consequences.
I now have a big pile of pretty good soil.
Landscaping and clean-up
Finally, a few days off.
and, as usual, there are other things threatening to intervene. Ben's 4 weeks in Amsterdam are almost up and we have to drive down there again to pick him up - so that will be Monday evening, assuming that we get back in time on Sunday - it's all in the planning!
So, the plan is to go down to Blokzijl on Friday, be there for Sipke's birthday party - a night out at our favorite pub - and back to Heerenveen on Sunday. Work as usual on Monday.
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| A 6 hour trip (one way) |
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| The "reward" |
Disclaimer
As I write the rest of this for my self-imposed deadline of "some time on Sunday", I have a hangover!
My own fault of course, but it was Sipke's 60th, after all.
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| Oh no! A "what I ate" photo |
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| and a "what I drank" photo (a Belgian beer from Bruges) |
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| Sipke was also drinking the Brugse Zot. This is what happens if you drink too much! |
What are the odds?
We had two Australian boats moored less than 50 metres away!. Both couples were from Fremantle. Apparently there are 14 in a loose sort of "club" organised in Fremantle and they all come over for about 3 months every year. ie 14 different boats!!
The two we saw were both very nice boats - and people!
I had a bit of a chat with John and Dianne (!) on their Linssen 34 (ft). They had their boat made for them by Linssen in Maasbracht, down in Limburg. They keep the boat there and it is only a relatively short trip into France or Belgium. Last year they went to Germany and this year they were on their way to France but were deterred by the bad floodwaters in Maastricht. So they headed north and are about to "discover" Friesland. Blokzijl is in Overijssel and we discussed a few places they could go to in Friesland. Of course, The Turfroute got a mention, as did Dokkum and a few more of our favorite places.
What are the odds 2?
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| Driewegsluis (Three Way Lock) |
It was very windy for the return trip on Sunday. If I could truly "retire" then I would have opted for another day of leisure and recovery, but duty calls, as ever. The first lock was going OK for us but the two boats in front went sideways! and so I had to backtrack ever so inelegantly - unfortunately I would have been the only one in sight of the Aussie boats - shit happens!
The next lock at Driewegsluis (Threeway Lock) was full with boats coming our way, so we had to wait until it emptied. We grabbed the last "wait here" mooring but still more boats were arriving and had to circle in the windy conditions until the lock opened. Somehow the lock keeper managed to squeeze us all in but there was one huge boat that wouldn't move all the way forward - they had found a spot and that was it as far as they were concerned!
Janny had spotted another boat further in the lock (it is a big lock but only a rise and fall of about 40cm) and cried "that looks like....." she ran on ahead..... and sure enough it was our old boat "Refuge Cove" - now renamed but with the same owners. It looked to be in pretty good nick but we are still sure that "Australia" is more suited to us.
Footnote: the area is commonly known as "Driewegsluis" because there used to be a "Three way Lock" in operation. It is in the trees (centre) in the above photo but no longer in operation. The three ways can be seen in the photo below.
Footnote: the area is commonly known as "Driewegsluis" because there used to be a "Three way Lock" in operation. It is in the trees (centre) in the above photo but no longer in operation. The three ways can be seen in the photo below.
I think I have to call it quits there. More next week about Blokzijl.
Haha sore heads....How extraordinary to see your old boat.....and to come across the Aussie parties.
ReplyDeleteI think your boat is the best so there are no comparisons, unless you are talking about one of those monsters you see out on the water.... probably one of those that was hogging the space in the lock. I met someone yesterday who will be staying just near Groningen for the next 4 weeks. I will skype with them next week as part of a second round job interview (for them not me!)
It might just be me but do those garden beds need to be raised with some of that good topsoil next season? they do look a bit low given the water. Its certainly a big job you have underway there. keep up with the photos.